Promise of tuition refund gets a failing grade
The colleges literature said a full refund would be given if it was determined within six weeks that a student could not handle the work.
DEAR HARRY: Our daughter does not meet the entrance requirements of established colleges. We were aware of her problems when she was in elementary school. She did get into one of the private colleges for a course leading to a job as a dental hygienist. Unfortunately, she could not manage it and was dropped by the school after about four weeks. In the meantime, with our backing, she got a $14,000 loan to cover her tuition. The school's literature promised a full tuition refund if it was determined within six weeks that a student could not handle the work. We must have called a dozen times to get that refund so that we could get rid of the loan. We get the runaround every time. We now think that we should try to get the loan forgiven since the school is a bunch of thieves. Is this possible?
WHAT HARRY SAYS: In a somewhat similar situation at Corinthian Colleges, the loans are being written off. Make your request with the U.S. Department of Education. See your U.S. representative about it: Mail won't do. A little pressure from Congress can avoid the red tape and speed up the process. The courses at many of these schools leave much to be desired.
Before you enroll, do a lot of investigating, especially with at least four former students.